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Children's Health Study (CHS) Sites: October 2003 Fire - Mira Loma

This page updated September 7, 2010.

Below is a data plot of PM10 mass data for the Mira Loma CHS site from October
20 to November 1.

In Mira Loma the smoke was blown in from the fires on October 25. The winds
blew extremely high levels of PM10 mass into this area during the period between October 25 and October 27
compared to the relatively low "normal" summer season PM10 mass during the preceding dates of October
20 to October 25. The smoke came in so quickly and so heavily that the mass measurement instrument shows a
gap in the spike in the data on October 25. The cool weather front came in on October 28 and rain began to
fall on October 29 and began to clear the air over Mira Loma. The levels of ambient PM10 mass were reduced substantially
after the rain on October 29, even compared to the "normal" summer season levels of PM10 mass on the preceding
days of October 20 to October 25. This area was consistently smoky from October 25 until the rains began to fall on
October 29. After the rain, the ambient levels of PM10 fell to below the "normal" summer ambient conditions
before the fire began on October 25. The lower levels of PM10 mass after October 30 are "normal"
for the winter season. This graph clearly shows the difference between the summer "normal" PM10 mass
and the winter "normal" PM10 mass for the Mira Loma area.

Graph of PM10 mass data from the Mira Loma CHS site
from October 20, 2003 to November 1, 2003.

For more information, please contact Dr. Barbara Weller by email or by phone at 916-324-4816.